How 5 Brands are Using Ads on Instagram Stories

March 1, 2017

Content from brands makes up one-third of the top-viewed Instagram Stories, the short, snappy video and photo montages, which disappear after 24 hours. And this January, Instagram unveiled ad units for its 4-month-old Snapchat clone to give snap-happy brands further reach beyond their followers.

Rory Hallam, creative operations director at agency ThinkJam, said that while it is early days for ads on Stories, advertisers are champing at the bit over “sound-on vertical video” thanks largely to Snapchat.

“It is a great opportunity for brands to express their product in that native experience,” he said. “Consumers won’t feel too offended by the content as it is highly targeted and easy to skip.” And as the units bookend content rather than interrupt it, they are not intrusive to the user’s experience, he said.